Plastic containers for processing sea water



June 4, 1957 A. L. coLARUsso PLASTIC CONTAINERS FOR PROCESSING SEA WATER Filed Jan. 1o, 1955 United States Patent O PLASTIC CONTAINERS FOR PROCESSING SEA WATER Augustine L. Colarusso, Boston, Mass., assigner to Van Brode Milling Co., Inc., Clinton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 10, 1955, Serial No. 480,633

1 Claim. (Cl. 210-482) The present invention relates to improvements in plastic containers for processing sea-water, and more particularly to the type employed in sea-water desalting kits which form part of the life-saving equipment of aircraft flying over the sea. Usually, each of such kits includes one of these processing containers and -a desalting material, the latter being compressed into a plurality of briquets, in order to save space. The container is ordinarily in the form of a collapsible bag, made of plastic material and having at or near its bottom a valve-controlled outlet, through which the treated water is drawn off through a built-in filter.

In use, a briquet is put with a measured quantity of sea-water into the bag, and the latter, after having been suitably sealed, kneaded or shaken to break up the briquet and agitate the desalting chemicals with the sea-water. Obviously, each bag must be so constructed that it will serve its purpose at least as many times as the number of briquets contained in lan individual kit. Since the container is, thus, subjected again and again to the kneading or shaking operations above referred to, it is essential that its lter be firmly fixed to the bag material, as otherwise the filter frame might injure the bag material and, thus, render the device inoperative. It is also highly important that the joint between the filter frame and the bag material be such that partial separation of these elements will not result in total failure of the appliance.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a plastic container for processing sea-water, to which the lter frame is cemented in such a manner that the appliance will withstand repeated use.

With this and other objects in View, which will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the combination, arrangement and construction of the parts hereinafter described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the size and proportion of the several elements and details of construction within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Two of the many possible embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of a container constructed in accordance with the present invention, the lower portion of the container being shown in section with the filtering material removed from the filter frame, more clearly to show the construction of the latter;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the upper portion of the container;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, on a larger scale; and

Figure 4 is a section similar to that of Fig. 3 of a modication of the invention.

The improved container is made of pliable plastic sheet material, for instance, of vinyl resin known under the trade name Vinylitef The thickness of the sheet should ICC be about 0.01 to 0.02 of an inch. The plies of this maten'al may be readily joined by the application of heat and pressure, a suitable cement being ordinarily employed, although not necessarily. The novel feature of the invention consists of forming a complete bag of the sheet material and anchoring to the bottom of the bag, either during or after the formation thereof, the llter frame through which the desalted water is to pass. To increase the anchorage, the filter frame attaching zone is extended above the bag bottom.

Referring now rst to Figs. l to 3, inclusive, of the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a container in the form of a complete bag, including sides 11, 12 and a bottom 13. This bag may be formed, for instance, by folding a sheet upon itself and joining the meeting longitudinal edges thereof, whereby a bag is obtained that is opened at its upper end 14. This top is provided with a snap-closure by fixing a stiff strip 15 of plastic material across the open top of the side 12 and a pliable reinforcement strip 16 to the other side of the bag in alinement with the strip 15. These strips extend somewhat beyond the bag sides and are joined to each other at 17 and 18. The strips 15 and 16 serve not only as the means for closing the mouth of the bag, but also as a mandrel about which the top portion of the bag material may be rolled for the purpose of sealing the bag mouth after it has been lled. To hold the bag mouth in its rolled form, any suitable means may be employed. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, a snap fastener is made use of for this purpose, its male element 19 being carried by a flexible ap 20, which is suitably attached to the bag side 11 at a substantim distance below the strip 16. The female element 21 of the snap fastener is mounted on a flexible flap 22, the latter being attached to the bag side 12. After the bag material has been wound upon the strips 15 and 16, to form a compact coil which seals the bag mouth, the flaps 20 and 22 are brought into encircling engagement with the rolled up bag mouth and thereafter the elements of the snap fastener engaged with one another, to secure the convolutions of the roll in their sealing position.

To the bag bottom 13 is cemented or otherwise secured a lter unit 23, comprising a substantially rectangular frame 24 of, preferably, plastic material, and filter elements 2S. The frame consists of a horizontal base 26, a horizontal top 27 and substantially vertical sides 28. Spaced uprights 29 connect the said base with said top, dividing the space within the frame into a plurality of chambers 30, 31 and 32, which communicate with each other through notches 33 in said uprights. To each side of the frame is secured a filter element 25 of suitable sheet material, a frame 34 being associated with each filter element to protect the edges of the latter. The chamber 32 is provided with an outlet 35, communicating with an opening 36 in the bag material, the communication being controlled by a valve 37.

All around the base 26 of the filter frame is formed an outwardly projecting rim 38, which extends upwardly from the underface 39 of said base. This rim and said underface are covered with a suitable cementing material, joining the bag bottom with the underface 39 of the frame base and firmly binding a portion of the bag material immediately above the bag bottom to the rim 38 on the filter frame base.

The operation of the processing container is as follows: The valve 37 having been set to close the communication between the filter outlet 35 and the bag opening 36, the bag is held in a vertical position and its mouth opened by forcing the ends of the strips 15 and 16 towar-d each other. A measured quantity of sea-water and a treating briquet is then introduced into the bag and its mouth permitted to snap into closing position. The

top portion of the bag is then tightly rolled around the strips 15 and A16, after which the snap fastener elements are brought into engagement, whereby the mouth is securelynsealed.M The bag is then kneaded or shaken to break up'the briquet andato agitate the desaltingL material with the sea-water, Considerable pressure is thus pro.- duced interiorly of the bag. Should, by accident, this pressure exceed the calculated limit, the bond between the bag material and the rim 38 may be broken or materially weakened. This occurrence, however, does not inuence the proper operation of the appliance, the :Filter remaining anchored to the bottom 13 of the bag, so that the latter will still function asa container.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 4 dilers from the one above described only in that its bag 40. is in the form of'a tube which is cemented to Vthe rim 38 of the filter frame base 26 'and against the'underface 39 of the latter, the sides of the bag material being thence extended downwards into contact with one another, as shown at -41, and joined. Thel operation of this device is in all respects the same as that of the one illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, of the drawings.

A lanyard 42 (Fig. 2) may be attached to the bag,

4 n by means of which the appliance is adapted to be fastened to a support, if necessary.

What I claim is:

An appliance for processing sea-water comprising a tube of pliable plastic material, a substantially rectangular filter frame mounted within said tube above the lower end of the latter, said frame including a base provided with an outwardly projecting rim all around the same and upwardly from the underface thereof, cementing material covering said rim fixing the latter to said tube, and cementing material on the underface of said lter frame base securing the lower portion of said tube to said underface, the sides of said tube being extended from the underface of the base of said lter frame downwards into contact with one another and being joined by a cementing material.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNiTnD'sTArEs PATENTS 

